True Love Way
by Ianto The Tea Boy
Summary: Merlin must take care of his sickly mother as she gets weaker from cancer. Without a job to keep them going or a pastime to keep his mind from cracking, Merlin starts attending school regularly. For the first time in a long while, everything is looking up for him. Nothing's going to break him now, not even being bullied by Arthur Pendragon, the school's popular rich boy.


**_Hello everyone! ^-^ This is my first au Merthur story and it kind of just hit me in the head while I was listening to True Love Way by Kings Of Leon. ( You should really listen to that while reading this:) Anyways, I haven't written the other chapters yet, though I most certainly will if this gets lots of positive reviews and readers!^_^ Also, if something is spelled wrong, or needs changing, don't be afraid to tell me!:) Enjoy!_**

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With the decrease in the temperature in the fall, Hunnith Emrys had been reaching a critical point with her health, as of late. Where the summer heat left her warm and content, the frigid fall wind covered her in a sheen of cold sweats that didn't stop until the early mornings. And there was absolutely nothing her sixteen year old son could do about it, no matter how much he tried.

Their little shack of a home in the back of the suburban town had so many holes in the walls and so many cracks along the roof that it didn't matter how many times Merlin tried to patch it up. The wind seemed to get through every time. And there was nothing stopping the harsh winter storms from ripping the place right off of its foundation either.

"Hey," Merlin whispered, bringing the only light source, an overused candle, closer towards his sickly mother as she rested in their small bed.

"Hello, Merlin." Hunnith whispered back, smiling lightly at her son. "You know, I'm not dead yet. You don't have to keep checking up on me every five seconds."

Her voice was weak and scratchy, but there was a hint of playfulness underneath; one he hadn't heard since he was a child. It brought back old memories, something he desperately needed right now.

"You're my mum; I'm obligated to be over protective." Merlin tried with a light hearted voice, smiling back as he took her hand from underneath the blankets.

The candle flickered lightly for a moment, illuminating Hunnith's body. This past year, she had been deteriorating more and more from the cancer. Where there had been a happy, lively woman, now laid a skeletal, shrunken human in her place. Hunnith's crystal blue eyes dulled into a misty grey when the brain cancer set in, and her athlete physique dwindled to a bag of bones over the last month.

Merlin knew she was getting sickly thin, but she refused to eat what little they had; if she was dying, what good what it do her, Hunnith had snapped at him. But even though she cried and fussed, Merlin did what it took to get the only substance for that week, into her mouth. And he never whined about it either; she needed it more than him, in the long run.

"You know you have to go to school tomorrow, right honey?" Hunnith asked, smiling wryly.

Merlin, having been pulled from his thoughts, frowned at his mother. "I can't, there's so much to do around here. Plus I still have to find a job before Friday; the lease will be up, and we owe at least a hundred dollars."

Hunnith clucked. "Merlin, you're only sixteen. I shouldn't be hearing you say that, but yet I am. I want you to go to school tomorrow and act like a teenager, okay? Skip class to make out with girls, yell at the teacher for no reason; teenager stuff. Whatever it is, I don't care, so long as you get out of this house."

"Mum, I couldn't." He said quietly, gripping her hand harder. "Who's going to watch you while I'm away? Who's going to make sure you're blankets on properly?"

_Who will be there if you die?_

The words hung heavy as a cloud above them, unspoken but not forgotten.

"I'm thirty two, Merlin. I've been looking after myself long before you were born, but if it makes you feel any better I'll call Mrs. Harper to come stay with me while you're away, all right?"

It wasn't the best possible answer, but considering circumstances, it was the only one. "I hate to agree with you," he joked, "but that's probably all we can do on such short notice. Except…"

Hunnith cracked a smile as she smacked his arm lightly. "Nope, there's no way you're getting out of this one, you little buggar."

"Oye! Doesn't hurt to try."

They both collapsed into a fit of giggles as the sun slowly descended into the horizon, ending yet another stressful day.


End file.
